Patients at risk as one in seven GP referrals 'vanish into black hole'

NHS watchdog survey suggests many cases are lost, rejected or delayed

- Denis Campbell Health policy editor

One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because the referral by their GP gets lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS's own patient watchdog has found.

Three-quarters (75%) of these patients trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.

Communication with patients is so unreliable that 70% of those affected only find out they have not been put on a waiting list after chasing up the NHS, because they have not been told that a holdup has occurred.

In some cases referrals that the GP has agreed to make do not even get sent from their surgery to the hospital, Healthwatch England's findings also reveal.

Its research established that 14% of all referrals get “stuck” between GPs and hospitals, leaving patients in the dark and anxious about when they will be seen and treated.

“Behind every delayed, lost or rejected referral is a human story of pain, stress and uncertainty,” said Chris McCann, Healthwatch's deputy chief executive.

“While improvements have been made, too many people remain stuck in this referral ‘black hole’, telling us that they’re ‘existing not living’ due to delays,” he added.